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DGR Telephone:
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Follow APA Advocacy on Twitter!
The APA Department of Government Relations is now on Twitter! Now you can find out about APA Advocacy activities, Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor votes in real time.
Please click on the following link to start following APA Advocacy Twitter:
http://twitter.com/apa_
advocacy
Questions about the Twitter page or how to set up an account? Please contact Kate McAllister at advocacy@psych.org. | |
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Senate Pushes Vote on SGR Cuts to April 12
On March 26, the Senate adjourned for its two-week spring recess without agreeing to a bill that would extend a number of expiring provisions, including extension of COBRA benefits and unemployment compensation, and a 30-day extension of current Medicare physician payment rates, through the end of April 2010. The bill, H.R. 4851, already passed the House and is the vehicle for avoiding once again the 21.3 percent cut in physician payment scheduled to take effect in 2010.
Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) objected to the bill's consideration, on the basis that it should not be considered emergency spending that would be exempt from budgetary offsets. As a result, Congress adjourned for two weeks without taking action to stop these programs from expiring. The Senate has scheduled a vote on April 12 to end debate on the legislation and move to final passage. It will need to be approved by 60 Senators.
This marks the second time in two months that Congress has failed to act on time to delay cuts in Medicare payment. To avoid payment interruption last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) was able to delay processing claims at the reduced rate for 10 days. CMS will be issuing guidance in light of Congress's failure to again pass an extension on time.
Congress has made annual fixes to the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula since 2003 and has already approved two short-term extensions this year to avoid the drastic 21.3 percent cuts. Such instability makes it difficult for physicians to depend on Medicare payments, which may ultimately result in physicians reducing the number of Medicare patients they see or opting out of the program altogether. The APA has joined the AMA in actively pressing Congress for a permanent solution to the SGR problem now. |
Senate Hearing on Veteran Homelessness Abruptly Shut Down
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), Chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, held a hearing on March 24 on VA's plan to end veteran homelessness in the next five years. It is estimated that over 100,000 veterans are homeless in the United States on any given night. The hearing ended abruptly at 11 AM after opponents of health insurance reform objected to allowing most committee hearings, including the Veterans' Affairs hearing, to continue. Senate rules require unanimous consent on the Senate floor for committees to meet two hours after the Senate convenes. Objections to the routine procedure are extremely rare. The hearing included witnesses from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as community providers who help homeless veterans, and a veteran in transitional housing. Chairman Akaka was forced to gavel the hearing to an end in the middle of testimony from a witness from Pathways to Housing, a service provider with hands-on experience helping homeless veterans, particularly those with psychiatric disabilities and addiction disorders. |
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Harvard Professor Expected to Be Named CMS Administrator
Donald M. Berwick, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, is expected to be named head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the congressional two-week April recess that begins on March 29. Berwick is a clinical professor of pediatrics and health care policy at the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, according to the school. He is also president and chief executive officer of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a Cambridge, Mass.-based, not-for-profit organization that promotes the improvement of health care. CMS has been without a permanent administrator since October 2006 when Mark McClellan left the agency. Kerry N. Weems served as acting CMS administrator from 2007 until the end of the Bush administration. |
DEA Announces Interim Final Rule Allowing E-Prescribing of Controlled Substances
On March 25, the Drug Enforcement Administration released an interim final rule which amends the federal government's current policy for prescribing controlled substances and will allow health care providers to electronically prescribe controlled substances. The new rule would give pharmacies, hospitals, and physicians the ability to electronically transmit prescriptions for controlled substances while maintaining the "closed system controls" on dispensing controlled substances, the IFR said. Additionally, the new regulations will permit pharmacies to receive, dispense, and archive electronic prescriptions for controlled substances. DEA has requested public comment on the IFR, due 60 days after publication with the rule going into effect 60 days after that.
APA had joined AMA and many other medical specialty groups in commenting and objecting to the overly burdensome and complex rules originally proposed by DEA. DGR will be reviewing the new interim final rule and will submit comments and undertake other advocacy efforts as necessary. |
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FAA Drops Ban On Pilots Taking Four Antidepressants
On April 2, the FAA announced that they will drop a longstanding ban on pilots taking antidepressants. The FAA stated that pilots taking one of four SSRI antidepressants will be permitted to fly under a new policy taking effect on April 5, 2010. The agency said that the change was due to better understanding of the medications' effects. Previously, FAA policy had banned pilots from flying if they have depression because the condition can be distracting in the cockpit and pose a safety risk. Under the new policy, pilots with depression can seek treatment with one of the four medications and keep flying. FAA health specialists will also monitor the pilots. FAA is accepting comments on the new policy and has posted a "Q&A document" and "press release" to help pilots and consumers understand the change. |
Senators Stand with Physicians on Early Flexibility in HIT Stimulus Incentive Qualification
A group of 37 Senators including Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) last week sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius commending the drive towards comprehensive health information technology implementation but also warning that adoption could be stymied by rigid requirements to qualify for the Medicare and Medicaid stimulus incentive. "While we believe that the general implementation framework outlined in the proposed rule should be preserved, starting with a phased, flexible approach to meaningful use would be a constructive change", the group wrote. Earlier in March APA submitted comments that highlighted the essential nature of broad participation of specialists of both large and small practice in a collaborative health information network and asked HHS to revise its proposed rule to be less stringent and clinically prescriptive.
To view APA's comments on the proposed rule defining meaningful use of HIT, click here | |
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